A 40ft high mural painted on the side of a building showing characters like the Krays and the Elephant Man has been unveiled along the ‘2012 Olympics Highway’ in London’s East End.

The mural telling the story of Whitechapel took six weeks of painting by artists Mychael Barratt, Nicholas Middleton and Jim Glover, commissioned by TV Edwards solicitors for their new offices in the Mile End Road.

People depicted on the mural include Captain James Cook who kept a house in the Mile End Road, Salvation Army founder General Booth whose monument is outside the building, and George Bernard Shaw who chaired the Fabian Society in Whitechapel, as well as the Krays, the Elephant Man, artists Mark Gertler and Isaac Rosenberg and TV Edwards himself who opened his first law office in Stepney in 1929.

Buildings depicted include the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, Whitechapel Gallery, Royal London Hospital, East London Mosque, Hawksmoor’s Spitalfields Church, the Trinity Alms-houses at Mile End Gate and Bloom’s famous kosher restaurant which closed down 20 years ago.

If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the East London Advertiser. Click the link in the yellow box below for details.

This newspaper has been a central part of community life for many years, through good times and bad, serving as your advocate and trusted source of local information. Our industry is facing testing times, which is why I’m asking for your support. Every single contribution will help us continue to produce award-winning local journalism that makes a measurable difference to our community.